More about Moore's law
The evolution of computing power did not begin with modern semiconductors, but can be traced back to earlier technological paradigms spanning more than a century. From mechanical systems to vacuum tubes and early electronic devices, each era contributed to a steady increase in computational capability, setting the stage for the rapid advancements observed in the semiconductor age.
Moore’s Law was first articulated in 1965, when Gordon Moore observed that the number of components on integrated circuits had been doubling at regular intervals, based on early industry data. In a landmark paper, he projected that this trend would continue for at least a decade—a prediction that proved remarkably accurate and was later refined to a doubling approximately every two years. Moore’s Law thus reflects an exponential scaling paradigm in semiconductor technology, where transistor density doubles approximately every two years. This implies a continuous reduction in feature sizes and an associated increase in functionality per unit area, driving improvements in performance, power efficiency and cost.
For more than half a century, Moore's law has captured the semiconductor industry's ambition: to double the functionality of chips roughly every two years. Turning that ambition into reality has become increasingly challenging as critical dimensions push deep into the atomic scale. The 10ACe project takes up this challenge by exploring and developing the solutions needed for the 10 Ångström CMOS node. Bringing together a broad consortium covering the entire chip manufacturing value chain — from EUV lithography equipment and computational lithography to process technology and process characterisation — 10ACe aims to demonstrate a fully functional monolithic CFET (mCFET) device alongside the advanced process control and chip design infrastructure required to manufacture at this scale. In doing so, the project not only extends the Moore's law trajectory, but also embeds sustainability at the heart of next-generation manufacturing — from resist material development to increasing the refurbishability of EUV tool modules. 10ACe is where continued scaling, industrial competitiveness and responsible innovation converge.
10ACe in the continuum of European Joint Undertaking scaling projects advancing Moore’s Law
10ACe is not a standalone initiative. It is one of the most recent projects in a coherent series of European, Joint Undertaking–supported programs aimed at sustaining Moore’s-law scaling by continuously advancing semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. Earlier projects were executed under predecessor Joint Undertakings such as ECSEL and KDT, creating a stepwise roadmap of technology development and integration. In this sequence, 14AMI was the final project before 10ACe was launched under the CHIPS Joint Undertaking, ensuring continuity in collaboration, knowledge build-up, and progress toward further chip miniaturization.
